Minerals Council of Australia:
Past Events
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Mr Greg Bourne
WWF believes that only companies that can deliver net social, environmental and economic benefits deserve the opportunity to thrive and grow in today’s world. Delivering positive economic returns is not enough. Profit alone should rightly be regarded as constituting a failing grade by society. Business competence must be measured against the sustainability yardstick.
The minerals sector needs to be able to credibly demonstrate to the community its capacity to deliver net social, environmental and economic benefits across a project’s life - from exploration, during operation, through to, and beyond, closure. This is not to say that all three benefit streams will be positive in all stages of a project’s life. Much as is the case with financial flows, at times environmental and social costs might temporarily be higher than returns.
Society will harshly judge any operation that goes into the social or environmental “red” for a long time, or to a great depth. Similar to those that evidence good financial performance, competitive advantage will be gained and maintained by those who get into the social and environmental “black” faster and higher.
Credible evidence of net benefit is critical. Sustainability reporting and independent third party certification of performance are tools that are beginning to show their value to the minerals sector, the market and society. WWF is at the forefront of international efforts to develop and implement these tools.
Greg Bourne had a long and illustrious career with BP during which he oversaw their activities in various parts of the globe. He returned to Australia in January 1999 to become Regional President - BP Australasia, the position from which he retired from BP in September 2003.
Greg took up his current position as CEO WWF - Australia in October 2004. Greg is also Chair of the Sustainable Energy Authority of Victoria and a Member of the CSIRO Sector Advisory Council to the Natural Resource Management and Environment Sector. He was awarded the Centenary Medal for services to the environment.
Mr Paul J Dowd
The adoption of sustainable development in the mining industry will be the determining factor of future business success, but as an industry we are not where we think we are or where we ought to be. To achieve success, sustainable development cannot be treated as a soft and pliable option – it requires a disciplined integration into the whole of the business. There are no easy and quick solutions. It needs risk management techniques to develop standards and controls. It needs to be measured, monitored, audited and where possible verified to assess conformance. People have to be trained and their competency tracked and measured to deliver these standards.
It’s also vital to engage stakeholders such as employees, communities and governments in the process of incorporating all facets of sustainable development. Newmont Australia is recognised for its work with remote Indigenous communities and Paul Dowd will outline a program that has had its ups and downs, but through continuous improvement, has led to tangible business returns.
Paul J Dowd is the Vice President, Australasian Operations and Managing Director of Newmont Australia Limited, having served as Vice President, Operational Development, Health and Safety since 2002. Mr Dowd previously served as Group Executive, Operations for the former Normandy Mining Limited and has spent nearly four decades in the mining business.
Peter M Sandman PHD
Risk communication consultant, Dr Sandman will introduce his world-famous “Risk = Hazard + Outrage” formula and discuss some of its implications for minerals industry risk controversies. He will focus especially on his recommendations to clients that they stop claiming to be “responsible” and aim instead to demonstrate that they are working to be “responsive.”
A one-day workshop on Dr Sandman’s approach to reputation management (he calls it ‘outrage management’) will be offered on Friday 4 November.
Peter M Sandman is one of the pre-eminent risk communication speakers and consultants in the United States today, and has also worked extensively in Europe, Australia, and elsewhere. His unique and effective approach to managing risk controversies has made him much in demand for other sorts of reputation management as well.
Mr Brendan Hammond
The application of the principles of sustainability in the minerals industry is growing rapidly across the sector. Translating these principles into practice however remains challenging. This presentation sets a framework for compelling purpose, set in a context of leadership, and gives examples of how to integrate sustainability into decision-making at all levels. The assertion is made that this process offers significant long-term competitive advantage through the opportunity to redefine the resources industry and the contribution it makes to society.
Brendan was the Managing Director of Argyle Diamonds between 2002 and 2005. The appointment followed extensive experience over 22 years with Rio Tinto, including engineering and metallurgy roles in Namibia and previous operational management at Argyle’s East Kimberley mine.
Brendan’s career is characterised by visionary leadership and large-scale change initiatives. Interaction with stakeholders external to each business was a priority focus for him – regional communities and businesses, government and customers.
Brendan is a member of the Premier of Western Australia’s Sustainability Roundtable and a Board Member of both the Western Australia Water Corporation and Jirrawun Arts.
Mr Hans Matthews
Over the past 15 years, our organisation has observed a feast to famine to feast cycle in the mining industry, a cycle associated with record profits, high commodity prices, followed by layoffs and shutdowns in times of weak prices. The industry is experiencing a boom today.
The story has been somewhat different in Canada’s Aboriginal community. As mining companies migrate to more remote and northern regions in Canada, there is a growing interaction between communities and companies. Relationship building has been advocated by community leaders, government and some in industry. Along with this trend, there have been a growing number of Aboriginal land claim settlements. There have also been a growing number of formal participation, impacts and benefits agreements negotiated.
In general, relationship building has lead to a general increase in Aboriginal community employment, business development and joint decision making in mineral projects. Can this momentum be sustained and can ongoing challenges be overcome? More importantly, can both interests grow together? There can be many lessons learned from the Canadian experience.
Hans Matthews is a member of the Wahnapitae First Nation, an Ojibway community in Ontario, Canada, where he resides. Much of his training and experience has been in the mining industry and in Aboriginal community economic development. In 1992 he and several other Aboriginal community natural resource professionals received a mandate from the Aboriginal community to form the Canadian Aboriginal Minerals Association (CAMA), a not-for-profit Aboriginal owned and operated entity. Hans has been president of CAMA since 1992 and maintains this role today.
Mr Preston S Chiaro
Rio Tinto aims to maximize its contribution toward society’s move to a sustainable future. This is being done using both top-down leadership and grass roots innovation. Rio Tinto has played a leadership role working with other industry majors to create a sustainable development (SD) framework for the mining industry. Its executive team continues to drive collaboration and improvements in group-wide SD tools and approaches while operating sites and business units work with local stakeholders to test and implement SD solutions. Mr Chiaro will describe how Rio Tinto’s SD program has evolved.
Preston Chiaro was appointed Chief Executive of Rio Tinto’s Energy Group in September 2003. He is an environmental engineer with Batchelor of Science, Environmental Engineering and Master of Engineering degrees. He joined Rio Tinto in 1991 at Kennecott Utah Copper Company’s Bingham Canyon Mine as Vice President, Technical Services. In 1995 he became Vice President and General Manager of Boron Operations in California. He was Chief Executive of Rio Tinto Borax from 1999 to 2003. He is presently Chair of the Coal Industry Advisory Board and a director of the World Coal Institute.
